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Hubert Pragnell’s bombed City of London after World War II
Unpublished drawings of St Paul’s and Blitz-damaged Wren churches in the 1950s and 1960s. St Paul's Cathedral and St Nicholas Cole Abbey,...
London On The Ground
5 hours ago6 min read
City of London Street names: a dozen that don’t mean what you think
More peculiar and varied street names in the Square Mile. The City of London is the oldest part of the metropolis. Because of its...
London On The Ground
Jun 17 min read
Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway together in London - new research
The Bard, his wife and a new London address in Trinity Lane? Shakespeare's image on the Queenhithe mosaic, close to where he and Anne...
London On The Ground
May 46 min read
The Cornhill Carvings: doors into history
On Cornhill in the City of London, carvings on a pair of mahogany doors tell the long history of the area. The doors are at 32 Cornhill,...
London On The Ground
Apr 195 min read
Dorothy Annan’s “striking and highly distinctive” murals
The 20th century ceramic murals in the Barbican Estate celebrate technological advancement. The Dorothy Annan murals on Cromwell Highwalk...
London On The Ground
Apr 124 min read
Secrets of the gatehouse of St Bartholomew the Great
A medieval arch, a Tudor house and moving memorials to fallen sons The entrance to the churchyard of St Bartholomew the Great from...
London On The Ground
Mar 155 min read
Cleary Garden: Peonies, Romans, the Tube and hogs
A former City of London bombsite with pretty plants. And hidden secrets. The lower tier of Cleary Garden Cleary Garden is a small park on...
London On The Ground
Mar 25 min read
Elizabeth Mallet, the first daily newspaper editor
The woman responsible for The Daily Courant, Britain's first daily newspaper in 1702. The launch issue of The Daily Courant was...
London On The Ground
Feb 84 min read
The first ice skating report: London 850 years ago
William FitzStephen wrote the world’s earliest description of ice skating in around 1174. Londoners and visitors enjoying outdoor ice...
London On The Ground
Dec 21, 20245 min read
Smithfield Market to turn lights out on a millennium of history
An 850 year old document describes a livestock market for swine, cows, oxen and woolly flocks at Smithfield. Smithfield meat market, the...
London On The Ground
Dec 2, 20245 min read
King’s College London’s Maughan Library reveals its secrets
The site’s 800 year history includes housing Jews converted to Christianity, and legal and national records. During London Open House...
London On The Ground
Nov 16, 20244 min read
City of London Street names: a dozen of the best
The Square Mile has a wealth of unusual, colourful and deceptive street names. Many of London's most curious and unlikely street names...
London On The Ground
Nov 10, 20244 min read
The Monument, the relief and its meaning
The sculpture on the Monument to the Great Fire of London is rich with symbolism . It illustrates the catastrophe that destroyed...
London On The Ground
Oct 20, 20247 min read
How the 'Cheesegrater' got its wedge shape
The City of London office block, Richard Rogers and Sir Christopher Wren. Officially 122 Leadenhall Street, or the Leadenhall Building,...
London On The Ground
Aug 18, 20245 min read
St Bartholomew's Hospital: see conservators at work in the 18th century North Wing
See paintings by William Hogarth and climb the scaffolding to admire the Great Hall's stucco ceiling. The 18th century North Wing of St...
London On The Ground
Aug 10, 20246 min read
Queenhithe: one of London's oldest landmarks
A mosaic at the ancient harbour illustrates London's history since Roman times. Queenhithe is the only remaining inlet of the Thames in...
London On The Ground
Aug 5, 20244 min read
Serenity in the City: Karin Jonzen's sculptures
Four works by the 20th century sculptor in the City of London. One of the pleasures of walking around the Square Mile is the wide variety...
London On The Ground
Jul 28, 20245 min read
Walking in Geoffrey Fletcher's London: Islington and the City
See some of the London that the artist and writer feared was disappearing in the 1960s and 1970s. Best known for his 1962 book The London...
London On The Ground
Jun 3, 20243 min read
Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's
Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's. The carving, in a hidden City of London alleyway, represents the Four Elements.
London On The Ground
May 27, 20243 min read
The Royal Exchange frieze: a freeze frame of history
Sculptures on the Victorian building tell of the City of London's past It is easy to miss the sculpted details on the the Royal Exchange,...
London On The Ground
Feb 24, 20246 min read
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